An aerial view shows houses lying deluged in sludge following flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026.[AFP]
Survivors from Nepal's flood-ravaged districts, some on stretchers, others gently supported by the shoulders, were airlifted to safety on Thursday as the constant roar of helicopters echoed across the devastated town of Bidur.
A few walked alone, their faces frozen in shock, as helicopters landed every few minutes on a football field inside the town's military cantonment, whipping up clouds of dust.
Among the survivors was customs agent Omkar Joshi, who spent the previous night stranded on a hilltop in the border town of Timure before being rescued.
"Everything is finished," Joshi, 35, told AFP, his voice breaking with emotion.
The town he fled had all but vanished beneath a torrent of water, mud and debris.
"Ninety percent" of its people were dead, he said, swallowed by silt.
"It is a giant graveyard. All that is left are sand and pebbles, soaked red by human blood."